“The reality hit me when I’m on the Tube in London two years ago,” Huffman, , told me recently. “And I’m talking to people and they’re all excited, there are all these different jerseys from NFL teams. And we’re thinking, ‘We’re the Broncos, we won three different Super Bowls, most recently in 2016.’

“So I was talking to an 11-year-old. He was just excited because he had on a Russell Wilson jersey. And he goes, ‘You guys won a Super Bowl?'”

A Mile High heart sank straight into the Thames.

“It’s almost like, you look at yourself and you like to remember yourself fondly, when you’re 20 and ripped,” Huffman laughed. “You’re like, ‘In my mind, I’m still 155 pounds of muscle.'”

The Broncos are rocking a dad bod now, and divorcing Big Russ just put them on a $53 million dead-cap diet. You know what? After eight straight years of punching a ticket to nowhere, Huffman is fine with riding backward for a season or two if it gets this train moving again.

“The whole concept of rebuilding as, ‘Oooh, that’s a bad thing,'” he continued. “Well, what’s even worse than rebuilding is seven losing seasons in a row.”

Exactly. For years, I’ve heard the same song. John Elway would sooner crowd surf with the yokels in Oakland’s Black Hole than tank a season. Look at Baltimore! Great franchises reload, they don’t rebuild. Denverites would freak out if you willingly put a 4-13 product on the field.

Sorry. Don’t buy it. When I posited that last scenario to Kyle Allen as we sat on the hill at training camp recently, he gave a smart qualifier befitting a smart fan base.

It depends on what kind of 4-13.

“I can live through a rebuild, speaking just for myself,” said Allen, who showed his Broncos bona fides by wearing a 1960 mustard throwback jersey with Tom Nalen’s “66” on the back.

“As long as (the Broncos are) putting in an effort, if you’re a couple pieces short but you can see big picture coming to fruition? I can live with that, yes. Now if we were to go 4-13 with, like, Russell Wilson (at QB)? Well, then that would be really frustrating again.”

“You trust with a rebuild?” I asked.

A pause. Elephant, meet room.

“I don’t have the most confidence in him,” Allen replied. “Boy, that Russell Wilson deal was — that was rough. I mean, a lot of us were wondering how he was still around after that.

“But at the same time. I mean, people need chances, too. I know what he was trying to do there. And I’m sure there was a lot of pressure on him.

“Like you said, we (didn’t) want to deal with a rebuild. We want it now. But I think he learned something from it. And, yeah, now I think they’re a little more reserved. Maybe they’re not swinging for the fences as much. Just trying to make contact.”

Broncos faithful? They get it.

Look, nobody kicks off a season trying to stink up the joint. But you’ve also got to be able to read a room here. In , you’ve got a proven coach, a lifetime QB fixer, on a long-term deal with long-term trust from ownership. You’re breaking in , and an older rookie, a first-round pick who needs to take his lumps as quickly as possible. As long as Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert are under 30 and on the fight card, you’ve got time.

“It’s been Band-Aid, Band-Aid, Band-Aid for seven years, right?” Dain Mangnall, a football coach himself, told me as we watched Nix drop another practice dime.

“At some point, you either rip it off or you cut off the leg. I mean, how many different head coaches have we had? At some point, the stopgap type of deal is maybe not working.”

For too long, a franchise that needed a new engine kept changing tires. That historic 11,000-foot drop from two Super Bowls to eight straight non-playoff seasons was the work of many hands. And most are still wiping the blood off those mitts with $500 bills.

“It was leadership by committee and there wasn’t leadership,” Huffman said of the Bowlen Trust. “It was all in Elway’s lap. Of course, I’ve talked to (ex-CEO) Joe Ellis several times, he’s a nice guy … but when you have three leaders, you have none. It was a crisis of leadership (with no one to say), ‘Hey, it’s my money.’ It was like, they’re trying to keep the patient alive until we get someone to buy this thing.”

Which would explain, at least in part, the decision to ship out three players and five draft picks (!) for a used, rundown DangeRuss in return. Hindsight burns the eyes like a hot poker.

“You know the adage about doing the same thing,” Huffman laughed, “and expecting different results?”

Sure do. It’s football insanity. NFL malpractice. Broncos purgatory.

“Rebuilding?” Huffman said. “I don’t know if this is semantics or marketing. (But) this should have happened a long time ago.”

There’s no shame in a two-year plan. Sure, the transition from Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson looked seamless in Baltimore. The part we forget?

The Ravens had to go 5-11 in 2007 to draft old Joe in the first place.

The Broncos win Super Bowl LXV to launch a new Shanahan Dynasty, and the circle of NFL life completes itself. This one? This one’s for Mike.

“You know what? Crazier things have happened,” Zach Zucker, Kyle Shanahan’s longtime pal/confidant and Shanny’s former Cherry Creek football teammate, told me with a laugh a few days ago.

“Who knows? In five years, if the right opportunity comes along …”

Shanny Week is almost upon us, that annual rite of passage where we see a whole bunch of people with Denver ties getting ready to play in the Super Bowl.

Only since those people work for the San Francisco 49ers and not the Broncos, the knives come out. Front Range families pick sides over whether John Elway or Joe Ellis is more at fault, and X turns into Thanksgiving before an election year.

It’s also the week in which Zucker has to hold his tongue like a loaf of bread, lest he fumble and the truth spills out.

“To be honest with you, I’m kind of like, ‘I know too much,'” he chuckled. “I just kind of keep my mouth shut. (Or) Kyle will kill me.”

History says the Broncos interviewed Little Shanny and Vance Joseph in January 2017 for their post-Kubiak head-coaching vacancy, and picked the latter. History says the decision helped banish one NFL blueblood (the Broncos) to the NFL hinterlands while opening the door for another (the 49ers) to rise from the ashes.

The truth? The Broncos were too screwed up seven years ago for Little Shanny to kiss the sky here.

Only they didn’t know it. Or if they did, they didn’t care.

Too many egos. Too little space. Too little time. Paxton Lynch. Dove Valley still had a Super Bowl glow, its gatekeepers a Super Bowl hubris. Elway rode an elite, historic defense to the title and never quite shook free from that vision as the way forward. Even though multiple sources said Kyle hit his interview with the Broncos out of about five ballparks.

Right guy.

Wrong time.

“It’s not so simple,” Zucker explained. “Listen, I feel bad for the Broncos that they didn’t get Kyle, obviously.

“At that point and time, the Broncos were in a much better place. They were rocking, coming off Super Bowls. When Kyle went to interview with San Francisco, they were the worst team in the league — worst offense, worst defense, worst special teams, worst everything. It was a complete start-over.”

In a weird way, it wasn’t dissimilar to Deion Sanders weighing the CU Buffs versus say, Ole Miss, South Carolina, or any other SEC middleweight. Here, Coach Prime’s the program, the face, the front porch, the demigod. There, he’s got better money, better recruits, better facilities, better infrastructure, better opponents — and expectations through the stinking roof.

In Columbia or Oxford, 4-8 gets you fired. In Boulder, it gets you a Sports Illustrated cover. Context matters.

“I would’ve absolutely loved Kyle to be here in Denver,” Zucker continued. “I just think it would’ve been a lot — for a lot of different reasons.

“Can you imagine walking in on that (franchise), coming behind your dad, and that whole thing, and how much respect the whole town had for (former Broncos coach) Mike Shanahan? There was no bones about it: We called (Mike), ‘The Man.'”

Dad raised the bar. Gary Kubiak matched it. The Niners, meanwhile, had crashed and burned after Jim Harbaugh bolted from the Bay, bottoming out with a 2-14 dumpster fire in the fall of 2016.

San Fran gave Kyle a willing partner in ex-Bronco John Lynch as general manager, power, and a long runway. Ellis and Elway saw the Orange & Blue in 2017 as a dynasty at its apex, with so many pieces from a two-time Super Bowl roster still locked into place.

“Everything is timing, right?” Zucker said. “It was just a situation (where) I think Kyle had great memories of being in (the Bay), it was in middle school when he’d spent a lot of time there. It was just an opportunity. The other thing I can tell you is that Kyle just absolutely loves . Jed has just given him an opportunity to do what he’s doing, and look what’s happened? Two NFC championships.”

Two Super Bowls. Three straight NFC title game appearances. Four seasons of 10 wins or more since 2019. Everything ¶¶Òőapountry ever dreamed of. And still do.

“It is what it is,” Zucker said. “Everything happens for a reason. Kyle ended up, everybody ended up, where they were supposed to be. My feeling is, everything happened for a reason. Kyle was meant to be in San Francisco.”

Forever? Who knows? In five years, George Kittle might decide to bail on football Come back, Kyle. All is forgiven.

“I just learned, being around the Shanahan family (from) a very young age, you never put anything out of the realm,” Zucker said. He laughed again. “Things can happen.”

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The Broncos on Friday requested permission to speak with Pittsburgh linebackers coach Brian Flores and Seattle defensive assistant Sean Desai about the role, a source confirmed to The Post. NFL Network first reported the requests.

Flores was the Miami Dolphins head coach from 2019-21 and then spent 2022 on Mike Tomlin’s staff in Pittsburgh after being fired from the Dolphins job.

The interview with Denver is notable for several reasons, including the fact that a year ago, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and all 32 teams claiming racial discrimination in hiring practices, but specifically mentioned what he claimed was a “sham” interview with Denver for its head coaching job before the Broncos ultimately hired Vic Fangio. Denver denied the allegation and two key figures Flores mentioned in the suit, Joe Ellis and John Elway, are no longer in formal front-office roles with the organization.

Desai, 39, spent the 2022 season as Seattle’s associate head coach and defensive assistant under head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt.

Before that, Desai spent nine years with the Chicago Bears. That span included 2013-18 as a quality control coach, 2019-20 as the safeties coach and 2021 as defensive coordinator. Then head coach Matt Nagy was fired after the season and Desai made his way to the Pacific Northwest.

In Chicago, Desai learned from Vic Fangio, who was reported to be among Payton’s preferred defensive coordinator choices before Payton was hired in Denver. The Broncos, of course, just fired Fangio as their head coach a little more than a year ago. He recently agreed to become the defensive coordinator in Miami.

There is no official word on defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s status going forward, a source said.

Evero is under contract with the Broncos for 2023 but is still in the running for head coaching jobs in Indianapolis and Arizona. Denver could allow him to explore other coordinating options even if he doesn’t get a head coaching job and Payton wants to go in a different direction or if the sides mutually determine the best option is for Evero to get a fresh start elsewhere after his close friend, Nathaniel Hackett, was fired in December.

Evero would have substantial interest from teams around the league with open coordinator positions if he becomes available.

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Namely, when it comes to organizational expectations, the Broncos’ new owners, the Walton-Penner group, aren’t messing around.

“I expect them to spare no expense for the right guy (at coach),” former NFL agent and CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry told The Denver Post. “You made the commitment for (quarterback) Russell Wilson where you’re stuck (financially) through at least 2023, probably 2024, and that¶¶Òőap assuming (Wilson) doesn’t turn it around. (The next) coach is going to have to stand up to (Wilson) in a way that the last one didn’t. I would imagine those (Wilson) perks are going to be curtailed.

“(The owners) should be swinging for the fences.”

By all indications the Broncos’ new owners won’t be afraid to grip it and rip it in an effort to land a coach who can a) revive the 34-year-old Wilson, who signed a five-year contract extension worth a reported $161 million guaranteed in September and proceeded to have the worst season of his career; and b) return the Broncos to the postseason for the first time since the winter of 2015-16, when the franchise won Super Bowl 50.

“There’s likely going to be a bidding war,” FOX Sports football analyst Brock Huard told The Post. “There are certain things you can’t control in the NFL. As an owner, you can’t control the week-to-week. You can’t control the outcome. But you can control this (coaching) contract and how you want to execute it to be able to get it done and to not let this guy say, ‘No.’”

By all accounts, the Broncos aren’t messing around when it comes to planting a flag, either.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and former Saints coach Sean Payton are believed to be among the Walton-Penner group’s top targets to replace Hackett. But those two targets won’t come cheaply.

Payton, 59, is under contract with New Orleans until 2024, and a team wanting his services will need to compensate the Saints with players or draft picks, or both. He reportedly made around $10 million coaching the Saints in 2021 and according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, found himself “walking away from” at least $45 million left over the final three years of his deal (’22, ’23 and ’24). Longtime NFL voices, most notably Yahoo’s Charles Robinson, estimate that Payton will command roughly $20 million per season to return to an NFL sideline.

The 59-year-old Harbaugh, meanwhile, for winning the Big Ten and reaching the College Football Playoff, where the Wolverines were upset by TCU in the semifinals, 51-45.

“This is what one calls a ‘matching’ market — very specific skills and very special needs,” said Rodney Fort, sports economist and emeritus professor of sport management at the University of Michigan. “Unless there is a college coach with a buyout requirement dying to make the NFL, then (the likely salary) will be $11 million-$12 million, minus the buyout.”

“You pay them for a reason”

An A-list coaching resume — with an A-list salary — would be something unseen at UCHealth Training Center since franchise icon Mike Shanahan was let go after 14 seasons in December 2008.

According to Sportico.com, the six-highest-paid coaches in the NFL a group that includes the Patriots’ Bill Belichick (an estimated $20 million), the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll (an estimated $15 million) the Rams’ Sean McVay ($15 million), the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin ($12.5 million) and the Chiefs’ Andy Reid ($12 million).

Shanahan was believed to be the last coach to touch the $7 million mark annually with the Broncos, and that was 15 years ago. The Broncos never disclosed the terms of Hackett¶¶Òőap contract, but the coach was reportedly in line to take home roughly $4 million in 2022, even though he didn’t even make it all the way through Year 1 of a four-season deal.

His predecessor, Vic Fangio, another first-time head coach, was on a contract reportedly worth an average of $5.5 million per season, including the one after he was fired. Which means the Broncos could have paid out close to $10 million, combined, during the last calendar year to a former coach and a coach who went 4-11 and had fans counting down the play clock for him during his home debut.

The coach Fangio replaced, Vance Joseph, was believed to be earning a salary in the Hackett neighborhood, between $3 million-$4 million as the first of what would be three first-time head coach hires in a row from 2017-2022.

Of those, only Fangio lasted more than two seasons.

“Once you figure out what are your most critical jobs for any company — for companies, there’s like 50-100, for many sports teams, it¶¶Òőap less than 10 — then (the question) becomes, ‘Do you have your best people in your most critical jobs?’” asked Boris Groysberg, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School and author of several articles on the parallels between sports and corporations.

“For the NFL, that would be quarterback and coach. So I tend to believe that it¶¶Òőap OK to pay premium (wages) for the most critical jobs.”

According to 2019 research published by Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht and Abhijit Naik in the Harvard Business Review, found that quarterbacks carried the most weight in determining a franchise’s team performance (37.37%), followed by head coach (29.08%), then general managers (22.43%) and owners (11.12%).

So in layman’s terms, the academics can confirm what ¶¶Òőapountry has already seen up close — that Wilson and his 37.37% impact has to either be “fixed” or replaced, and that the Broncos can’t afford to get that next 29.08%, the relative value of a head coach to franchise success, wrong again.

“You pay them for a reason,” Groysberg said. “Unless you get someone (who) says, ‘This is my opportunity, I’m taking that job (regardless),’ you’re going to be going after somebody who has options 


“It seems to me that Russell Wilson plays a certain type of game. So you have to be thinking about a coach that kind of fits that.”

There will be options, too, with Payton and Harbaugh likely pursued by other NFL teams, with Carolina and Indianapolis among those looking, and more firings to come once the regular season ends Sunday.

“You have to go big”

Huard can name one coach who fit DangeRuss perfectly, at least for a while: Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, under whom Wilson initially thrived and eventually clashed.

The former NFL quarterback turned TV analyst also sees more than a few parallels between the Seahawks during the winter of 2009-10 and the Broncos of today. Especially when it comes to Harbaugh, who was one of Carroll’s old coaching rivals in the Pac-12 when Harbaugh was at Stanford and Carroll was at USC — and again in the NFC West while Harbaugh was leading the San Francisco 49ers.

“(Seattle owner) Paul Allen looked at the situation (with his franchise) and said, ‘We need a reboot, we need a re-brand, we need the biggest and best (coach) and went out and would not allow Pete to say ‘No,’” Huard explained.

The Seahawks in January 2010 were coming off two seasons in which they’d finished a combined 9-23 and were phasing out of the Mike Holmgren Era. In the fall of 2009, Jim Mora’s first with the Seahawks, Seattle finished 5-11 while frustrated players lashed at out at coaches and one another. Carroll, meanwhile, was flying high with a blue-blooded college football program in Los Angeles — one that was also on the cusp of NCAA sanctions — before electing to jump back into the NFL.

Sound familiar?

Given the reports regarding Harbaugh’s interest in NFL jobs, followed closely on the heels of the news his Wolverines are under NCAA investigation, this past week has taken on a vibe of dĂ©jĂ  vu all over again. Will the Broncos be the ones providing the coach a lifeline, though?

“If you’re this Walton-Penner group, when you’ve already spent $4.65 billion for this organization,” Huard continued, “if you want this (Broncos) brand to go global, you have to go big and go get the biggest (coaching name). And not let him say, ‘No.’”

Hi Parker! Has any reporter asked Nathaniel Hackett if he makes any in-game adjustments? We score early, the opposing defense makes adjustments, and then nothing. I would think an offensive mastermind would also try to be a step ahead of the opposing coach and make adjustments.

— Del, Lamar

Hey Del, and happy Thanksgiving week to everybody.

We’ve asked Hackett about halftime adjustments and Denver’s terrible offensive performance in the third quarter so far this season several times and in several ways. Mostly, he’s pointed to third downs rather than third quarters as being at issue. He’s expressed confidence in the way his staff handles halftime and the decisions about whether to stay the course, make major adjustments, etc. But the proof is in the stuffing, you know? They just rarely have done anything effective in the third quarter. One big drive against Jacksonville, a field goal that came after an interception and an offensive three-and-out. That¶¶Òőap it for offensive points. They did get a bit of a drive going late in the third on Sunday that turned into a fourth-quarter field goal. So, progress or something, he said with very little conviction.

What is the biggest need this offseason? Is it O-Line? Or a new training staff? Will a new coach fare any better without investment in these areas?

— Sebastian, Davenport, Iowa

Hey Sebastian, Quad Cities, alright!

The offensive line is going to have to be a major focus this offseason. They’ve had a revolving door at right tackle — though Cam Fleming has settled things down some when he’s been healthy — left guard Dalton Risner’s contract is up after the season and Garett Bolles is coming back from a major leg injury. That¶¶Òőap before any conversation about whether Denver has a long-term answer at center in either Lloyd Cushenberry or Luke Wattenberg. In fact, if you were putting odds on how George Paton uses his new first-round draft pick, I’d put offensive line at the top of the heap. That or turning San Francisco’s likely late first into a pair of seconds if he can find good value and the board falls the right way.

I’ll say this on the other part, though: Anything off the field is where the Walton-Penner ownership group can really flex its financial muscle however it wants to. Everyone’s governed by the same salary cap rules — the wealthiest owners can even draw an advantage there by paying big cash bonuses to players and spreading out the cap hit, an accounting lesson for the offseason — but off the field, the limit is really your imagination and what is really determined to be of value to the organization. It¶¶Òőap easy to spend other folks’ money — especially Walmart money — but put it this way: If the new owners want to pour cash into training staffs, analytics, facilities, coaches, etc., they’re free to.

How can the defense leave open receivers two plays in a row in overtime?

— David, Denver

David, I’m sure plenty of defensive players thought the same thing. So uncharacteristic of the group that had been the NFL’s best against the pass entering the night. The first one, linebackers Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell appeared to have a beat on what was happening pre-snap, but they just didn’t execute well and tight end Foster Moreau ran right between them. When Derek Carr put a good ball on him, neither was in position to make a tackle and he rumbled for 33 yards.

Second one, the best wide receiver on the planet ran a route Vegas had set up the entire game and he left a good secondary and an elite cornerback in the dust. Adams had run that big over route so many times over the course of the game and he sold it well before breaking it off on a dime and turning back to the outside. Denver runs a lot of match coverage, meaning zone with man principles, and by the time Pat Surtain II committed to the over route, there was nobody back to the right side of the field. Justin Simmons was quick to say that it wasn’t just on Surtain and coverages in the NFL are complicated. So, suffice it to say Adams and the Raiders dialed up a great route at exactly the right time.

Ask Russell Wilson if he understood the situation when it¶¶Òőap third-and-10, Raiders have no timeouts, that you can’t throw the ball away? That you just need to run or take a sack.

— Anthony Rodgers, Atlanta

We did, and he said after the game that he was “trying to make a play.” Obviously, the incompletion handed Las Vegas an extra 40 seconds or more. It was nearly a worst-case outcome for the Broncos on that third-and-10. And the pass was not close to getting to Jalen Virgil along the sideline.

Maybe Vegas hits that wheel route and gets into field goal range anyway if it had less time to work with. Maybe Daniel Carlson drills a field goal from 58 instead of 25 yards and the game goes to overtime anyway. But almost anything would have given the Broncos a better chance than an incompletion.

Have John Elway and Joe Ellis taken responsibility for hiring George Paton, who hired Nathaniel Hackett and overpaid Russell Wilson?

— James Zingelman, Lakewood

Maybe we can take this all the way back to its logical conclusion before Pat Bowlen purchased the franchise in 1984 to when it first started in 1959, James. Butterfly effect the entire thing.

Parker, what’s our running back situation looking like after Melvin Gordon was waived? Anybody in free agency who could help fill the hole? Maybe a former Pro Bowl back from our own backyard?

— Mike, Denver

Wouldn’t be a surprise if they needed nametags in the running backs room over the past few weeks, Mike. Latavius Murray’s been with the Broncos the longest, a storied run that dates all the way back to
 Week 5. The No. 2 back will be Marlon Mack, who arrived Week 8. Then practice squad back Devine Ozigbo is the likely No. 3 this week. Next week, the Broncos may get Mike Boone back off of injured reserve if his high-ankle sprain has healed enough. He was doing conditioning work last week, so it seems as though he’s on a good track. Nathaniel Hackett said Chase Edmonds will miss substantial time with an ankle injury himself. As for Phillip Lindsay — I gather that¶¶Òőap who you mean — Denver’s been scouring practice squads and the wire for backs for weeks. Never say never, but they’ve had their attention elsewhere so far.

Hey Parker! If Nathaniel Hackett is truly “one and done” as coach of the Broncos, what do you think the possibility is of keeping our defensive coaching staff together in spite of hiring a new head coach? They have been doing a good job keeping us in the games we have lost and are a big reason for each win. I know it’s typical for a head coach to bring in their own staff, but it would be a shame to lose our current defensive staff to another team if they decide to replace the head coach at the end of the season. Thanks!

—  Mike Gonzalez, Grants, N.M.

Yeah Mike, those things are always tough to forecast because 1) football is a small fraternity and a lot of guys know each other and 2) with a defense as good as Denver’s, coaches are going to earn opportunities. Let¶¶Òőap say, as a hypothetical, that Denver takes Mark Kiszla’s suggestion and makes Ejiro Evero the head coach. Does he think his coordinator is on the staff currently? Does he have several other people he’d be champing at the bit to hire? Most guys have a general plan of what they’d do and who they’d call if they one day end up in the big chair.

Then it depends on opportunity, as well. If Evero gets a head coaching chance elsewhere — could be another year or two, but certainly he’ll have interview chances this winter — there’s nothing to do about that except wish him well and take the draft pick compensation that comes along with it. If Christian Parker gets a defensive coordinator job somewhere, that means you hired a really good coach and now you have to go do it again. Such is life in the NFL.

With so many things stacked against Nathaniel Hackett — injuries, their “franchise” QB reportedly calling audibles from his previous team, swinging and missing on his intended OC hire — how could he realistically be expected to succeed? And if that is truly the hard line in Denver, which HC do you think would have been successful in this situation?

— Jake, Eagle Point, Ore.

Yeah, Jake, I hear you on this. Everybody in the NFL deals with injuries, but the Broncos have had a ton. Was just having this conversation with somebody the other day, actually: This is why winning games early in the season is so important. People say you can’t make the playoffs in September and that¶¶Òőap true, but it¶¶Òőap the healthiest you’ll be all season. If the Broncos beat Seattle and Indianapolis (October, I know), they hit the bye week in a much different position and the whole season feels different. They missed chances early in the season, which, maybe a slow start shouldn’t be shocking given all the new pieces, then injuries stacked up and they’ve been bad on offense and they’re in a bad spot. It¶¶Òőap never one thing. That¶¶Òőap what makes the evaluation difficult.

At the end of the day, what happens on the scoreboard eventually wins out. That¶¶Òőap the bottom line in this business. The key element here is how the decision-makers define “eventually.”

Nathaniel Hackett is the hack he has proven himself to be. Ejiro Evero is being lauded as next year’s hot coaching candidate for another team. Why not cut our losses with the hack and make Evero the interim head coach with the plan of making it permanent. Then we hire an offensive coordinator.

— Paul Heaton, Atlanta

Making it permanent is the key in that situation, Paul. My understanding of the way coaching contracts typically work is promoting anybody to interim has an impact on your ability to protect the coach from interviewing for other jobs. So if Evero, in this example, was an interim HC for part of the season, Denver couldn’t stop him then from taking coordinator interviews this offseason. If you’re making him the permanent head man, that¶¶Òőap not an issue.

This is all putting the cart before Thunder, of course. Our columnist, Mark Kiszla, suggested HC Evero and OC Klint Kubiak on Sunday. What would you say to that?

Since the already weak O-Line has been hit with more injuries, why isn’t Hackett calling more short routes so Wilson can get rid of the ball quicker?

— Bill Kittle, Highlands Ranch

Interesting you say that, Bill, because I thought Sunday — especially early in the game — was the best Wilson has been this year at getting the ball out of his hands quickly and taking the easy yardage when it¶¶Òőap there. That, obviously, is based in part on what¶¶Òőap being called for him. I’m interested to see if Kubiak can more frequently help get Wilson into rhythm early in games. It didn’t end up meaning a lot on Sunday as the passing game and offense in general went haywire late, but even still, it seems like a decent recipe going forward considering the Broncos’ injury situation and lack of a consistent run game.

“We’re not where we need to be,” said Greg Penner, the new ¶¶ÒőapEO and one of the crazy-rich Waltons who purchased the team earlier this year for $4.65 billion.

At the bottom of a crooked, creaking staircase that led to the basement of a former London bank transformed into a tavern, Penner stood early Friday evening among stacked wooden chairs in a cramped storage room. I ain’t no Shakespeare, but as a fit and energetic 52-year-old man tried to offer reassurance that a football franchise that has forgotten how to win can somehow escape the 2-5 mess it¶¶Òőap in, the metaphor of a billionaire stuck in the basement was too rich to ignore.

In one respect, it doesn’t matter how much money Penner is worth. Once you start to live and die with the Broncos, a loss on Sunday can feel like a nightmare.

“You wake up on Monday morning and you wonder: ‘Did that really happen yesterday?’ ” Penner said. “You kind of go through the first day or two of  the week in a bit of a fog 
 Finally, on Wednesday or Thursday, you start looking forward to the next game. But it¶¶Òőap painful.”

As he talked about the team’s abject failure on the field, a party rocked above Penner’s head. Broncomaniacs who have staged a takeover of jolly old England danced to classic American rock and drowned their sporting sorrows with pints of cold British lager.

Die-hard fans entertain doubts Nathaniel Hackett can hack it as a head coach and have yet to see conclusive proof Russell Wilson is a quarterback capable of leading the Broncos back to Super Bowl relevancy.

But there’s an even bigger question for a Denver civic treasure that has endured unprecedented upheaval during this calendar year:

Do Penner and the crazy-rich Waltons care about winning football games with every fiber in their souls, with the same orange-and-blue passion the late Pat Bowlen did?

My feeling is you can trust Penner to treat this team as a civic trust, not just a toy share with family and friends.

Yes, he watches the team from a cushy seat in a luxury box high atop the stadium. But defeat wallops Penner like a punch to the gut.

“When we lose a game and you have to ride the elevator down to the locker room, it¶¶Òőap dead silence. Nobody wants to say anything to us. We don’t want to say anything,” said Penner, who often piles into that elevator with general manager George Paton and downcast assistant coaches. “Then you get to the locker room. This is a proud team and these guys want to win. You see that in their eyes. It¶¶Òőap tough, because they’re working hard, but we just haven’t put the pieces together.”

Ask about the team’s bungling rookie head coach, and while Penner does offer support to Hackett, the bottom line is: “He knows we’re not performing at the level we expect.”

I got the sense Penner would be reluctant to fire Hackett in frustration, even if the Broncos lost a fifth game in a row by falling short against Jacksonville. But should Denver fail to demonstrate significant improvement during the back end of the schedule, I’d also be surprised if Hackett returns as coach in 2023.

After making a $245 million contract commitment to Wilson before he completed a touchdown pass for the Broncos, however, Penner has little choice except to cite a championship ring previously won as the Seahawks’ quarterback and believe: “He can be a great quarterback for us.”

Losing is no longer an acceptable option in ¶¶Òőapountry, because fans are sick of it.

“At the end of the day,” Penner said, “we have to win for them.”

With a stronger sense this new ownership cares group as much about winning as Broncomaniacs do, I shook Penner’s hand, climbed the stairs and bounded out the door of The Barrow Boy & Banker tavern into the crisp evening air.

At a nearby subway station, I was startled when I bumped into a familiar American face, who called out my name as we fumbled for our tickets.

“It hasn’t been easy for this team,” said Joe Ellis, who served as the trusted top lieutenant to Bowlen through the Super Bowl glory years of the franchise.

“But Greg Penner is a smart guy. The Broncos have a good man in charge. He’ll figure it out.”

While I suspect the crazy-rich Waltons will be patient with Hackett and anybody else dragging the Broncos down as long as they possibly can, Penner also calmly said something that should hit any under-performer in this football operation like a hammer.

A billionaire doesn’t get rich by merely expecting to win.

Success is an ultimatum.

Accountability means success will be celebrated, but failure has consequences.

“You have to have a level of patience. We have a lot of new pieces here and we’ve got to get those pieces working together. But at the same time, you have to have a sense of urgency,” said Penner, whose succinct words should send a chill down Hackett¶¶Òőap spine.

“We need to win now.”

Nobody pays $4.65 billion for a football team to be stuck in the basement.

Quarterback Russell Wilson was joining the Broncos in one of the biggest trades in NFL history.

Throughout the country, Wilson’s new teammates rejoiced when they read their social media channels, heard from their agents or were bombarded with calls from family members.

“I said, ‘What¶¶Òőap going on? Why is everybody calling me?’” outside linebacker Bradley Chubb said.

Throughout the Broncos’ facility, assistant coaches, who had no idea the team was pursuing Wilson, equal parts sat shocked in their office chairs and bounded into the hallways to celebrate.

The Broncos’ optimistic-but-realistic view of the season — where nearly everything would have to go right to make the playoffs — was flipped 180 degrees to aspirations of playing deep into January because of Wilson’s experience, leadership and play-making ability.

Following six consecutive years out of the playoffs and five consecutive losing seasons, the Broncos were relevant. Finally. They were a part of the AFC conversation. And they had The Quarterback. Finally.

A week later, the trade was official. A week after that, Wilson hosted teammates in San Diego for a throwing camp. Two months later, he was on the practice field. And Monday night, he makes his hype-filled return to Seattle to face his former team. It is Game 1 of 17, but it could serve as the catalyst for the Broncos to start their march up the division and conference.

What seemed unfathomable a year ago and unlikely in early March will become a reality: Wilson will lead the Broncos out of the tunnel in the stadium he thought he would always call home.

“It¶¶Òőap been a blast,” he said. “I feel the best I’ve ever felt. I feel strong. I feel fast. I feel confident. I feel like a winner.”

* * *

General manager George Paton and president/CEO Joe Ellis were in the office of another Broncos executive.

“We knew it was coming soon and it was unique in that most of the building didn’t know,” Paton said. “I just kind of sat there until my phone started and I had 1,000 texts and you could hear people screaming.”

Broncos get their man

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, linked to the Broncos since Draft Night 2021, made it known on the morning of March 8 he was staying put and wouldn’t follow coach Nathaniel Hackett to the Broncos.

By that point, Wilson and his family were already en route to Centennial Airport, located across the street from the Broncos’ facility.

Paton saw the news break — Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Broncos for quarterback Drew Lock, defensive end Shelby Harris, tight end Noah Fant, two first- and second-round draft choices apiece and a fifth-round selection — and then waited for the noise.

The wait was brief.

“It was like the Fourth of July,” Paton said during an interview with The Denver Post in his office. “You know, on the Fourth, when it gets dark and then, ‘Boom, boom, boom.’ There was obviously a lot of joy.”

Paton was naturally thrilled. He and Seahawks general manager John Schneider had their first Wilson-related discussion at the Senior Bowl in late January and conversations gained momentum the previous week at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. The work, though, wasn’t done.

The Broncos needed to close the deal.

“We had a lot of things to prepare for: What¶¶Òőap the plan? Where is Russ going when he lands? Let¶¶Òőap get the (fieldhouse) ready,” Paton said.

The Broncos had to sell themselves to Wilson so he would wave his no-trade clause.

“Oh yeah, we sure did,” Paton said. “He had to get to know what we’re all about as we did him. Now, we knew him probably more than he knew us. We had a month to do a lot of work and I know he did a lot of work on a lot of teams so I knew he knew our personnel, but he didn’t know me, he didn’t know Nathaniel, he didn’t know what we are trying to build here. Those were really important conversations.”

Wilson embraced the Broncos’ message and signed the document approving of the trade, which the club sent back to the Seahawks.

For the first time since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 Super Bowl, the Broncos had a franchise-level quarterback.

Defensive backs coach Christian Parker was in his office.

“I was watching some draft guys and my Twitter updated and, yeah, there was a whole bunch of yelling and running around the hallways. (Defensive coordinator) Ejiro (Evero’s) office is right next to mine. He was the first high-five.”

* * *

Wilson, 33, grew up in Richmond, Va., the second of three children of Harrison, a lawyer, and Tammy, a nursing director. Russell’s dad played football at Dartmouth, older brother Harry played football and baseball at Richmond and younger sister Anna completed her basketball career at Stanford in April.

“Competitiveness. Winners,” Russell told The Denver Post. “We were always shooting hoops, playing basketball, throwing the football around and tackling in the backyard — 24/7.”

Starring at N.C. State

Wilson threw 74 touchdowns in his final two years of high school football. A two-star recruit by Scout and Rivals, he signed with North Carolina State. He spent four years on the Wolfpack’s campus, throwing 76 touchdowns and rushing for 17 scores.

Before his junior year, Wilson was drafted by the Rockies in the fourth round. He hit .230 in 32 games and developed a mental skill set that helped him at quarterback.

“One pitch at a time; one play at a time,” he said. “You have to be in the moment and not let anything get to you and reset your mind every day.”

Wilson’s father passed away on June 9, 2010, at age 55 due to complications from diabetes.

Now a father, Wilson was asked what parenting attributes he learned from his dad.

“Encourage rather than discourage,” he said. “My dad always encouraged us that all things were possible and mom, too. I don’t have limits in my mind. I don’t have limits in my thought process. There are no limits. The only limits we have are the ones we put on ourselves.”

* * *

Broncos right tackle Calvin Anderson had completed a workout with left tackle Garett Bolles in Orange County, Calif.

“We were in the hot tub,” Anderson said. “And we were freaking out. I thought it was fake news. My agent called and said, ‘You guys are getting (No.) 3.’ It was nuts.”

Rising fast in Seattle

Wilson’s commitment to play in the Rockies’ minor-league system didn’t sit well with N.C. State, which led to him to Wisconsin, where he went 11-3 and threw for 33 touchdowns (four interceptions).

Wilson was drafted 75th overall (third round) by the Seahawks in 2012. Quarterbacks selected ahead of him were Andrew Luck (No. 1), Robert Griffin III (No. 2), Ryan Tannehill (No. 8), Brandon Weeden (No. 22) and Brock Osweiler (No. 57). Tannehill is the only one still active.

Wilson beat out Matt Flynn for the Seahawks’ starting job and didn’t give it up for the next decade. He started 174 of a possible 176 regular season/playoff games, reached two Super Bowls (one win) and had eight seasons of double-digit wins.

“Russell is a championship quarterback,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. “He can make all the throws. Dynamic. The game is never over. That¶¶Òőap as huge of a compliment you can give only to the great ones.”

Since entering the NFL, Wilson is third in touchdown passes (292), seventh in completion percentage (65.0), third in lowest interception rate (1.8) and second in regular season wins (104) and playoff wins (nine).

The Seahawks, though, didn’t get back to the NFC title game after 2014 even as Wilson threw at least 31 touchdowns from 2017-20 (including 40 in ’20) and had five years with a passer rating of at least 103.1. A perfect storm developed early in the offseason when the Seahawks were open to dealing Wilson and, more importantly, Wilson was open to being traded. The Broncos emerged and started a whirlwind of quarterback movement that was followed by Deshaun Watson to Cleveland, Matt Ryan to Indianapolis and Carson Wentz to Washington.

* * *

The Broncos’ offensive coaches were in a staff meeting.

“All of a sudden, our phones started blowing up,” tight ends coach Jake Moreland said. “That¶¶Òőap how we found out. It was crazy. The whole offensive staff was like, ‘What the heck is going on? Is this real?’ It was pretty cool. There were high-fives, hooting and hollering. The defensive coaches poked their heads out their doors and it started spreading.”

Obsession with winning

Wilson doesn’t need caffeine to operate his non-stop schedule.

“I don’t drink coffee because I don’t get tired,” he said. “People ask me, ‘How do you do all this stuff?’ We never stopped (as kids). A big part of that is knowing you have only so much time to live and how I maximize my hours. I don’t spend time doing much else.”

Wilson arrives at the Broncos’ facility in the range of 5:30-6 a.m.

A grinder himself, Paton said Wilson “pretty much” beats him to the parking lot each day.

“It¶¶Òőap not for show,” Paton said. “This guy is all about it.”

All about the process and arriving early for meetings and self-run walk-throughs with his skill-position players. Conferring with coaches during every break in practice. Throwing routes post-practice. And repeating it all the next day.

“Just incredible detail,” Paton said. “He doesn’t waver. It¶¶Òőap an obsession with winning. That¶¶Òőap his day. That¶¶Òőap what he thinks about 24/7. Everyone here sees it and everyone feels it. You talk to him and it¶¶Òőap, ‘How are we getting better?’ I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Like Manning 10 years ago, Wilson had instant credibility before he said one word to a teammate or coach. Young players were in high school when Wilson began his pro career. Mid-career veterans were in college when he won the Super Bowl. And older players see Wilson as the key to an elusive championship.

If Wilson’s end-of-press-conference saying is, “Let¶¶Òőap ride,” it should be, “Ready to ride,” for coaches and players. They will go whatever direction Wilson leads them.

“It¶¶Òőap not a mistake he is who he is — life is ball for him,” offensive coordinator Justin Outten said. “With his work habits, it¶¶Òőap rubbing off on those other guys, which is exciting. You can’t beat that.”

Said receiver Courtland Sutton: “There is a different level of standard and I would say that definitely began when Russ got picked up.”

***

Outside linebackers coach Bert Watts received a cryptic text message.

“I was in my office and I got a text saying, ‘You just got a lot better.’ And then I ran out of the office and was asking, ‘What is it?’ And them, boom, everybody was fired up.”

The buzz is back

Watts was an entry-level Broncos assistant when Manning was acquired in 2012, which makes him qualified to compare Manning Mania to Russ Fest.

“There are definitely some similarities,” Watts said. “It¶¶Òőap been great to have this energy out here. I think from Day One when Russell got here, I have felt that dĂ©jĂ  vu. The type of people they both are, the professional and automatic credibility they bring into the field. It¶¶Òőap been exciting to go through it again.”

The Broncos’ secondary ticket prices are among the highest in the league — a 100 level seat for the San Francisco game on Sept. 25 is $984. They have been scheduled for five national television games, including the first Monday night game and a Christmas Day date against the defending champion Rams.

If the “Orange Crush Defense” was Chapter 1 of winning Broncos football, followed by John Elway (Chapter 2) and Manning (Chapter 3), a Wilson-led resurgence will be Chapter 4.

Elway and Manning both won their second Super Bowl titles in the final game of their Pro Football Hall of Fame careers. Like Manning, Wilson won a title with another team. Wilson wants to add to his legacy by joining Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to win Super Bowls with two franchises.

Manning helped the Broncos to two Super Bowls (one win) and five consecutive division titles. Wilson will be the point man to help dig the franchise out of its current slump.

Before he has thrown a regular season pass, Wilson has brought the buzz back to the Broncos.

“It feels great,” Wilson told The Post. “There are two ways to look at things: In a negative manner or an opportunity manner. I look at everything as an opportunity manner.”

“Our No. 1 priority is putting a winning team on the field to win Super Bowls for ¶¶Òőapountry,” Rob Walton said Wednesday, when a 77-year-old guy with more money than God was refreshingly humble enough to admit he doesn’t know a whole heck of a lot about football.

OK, if one of the richest men on the planet wants to live to enjoy the day when the Broncos win their next championship, may I humbly offer two cents of advice?

Hire Peyton Manning.

“Peyton is one of the greatest NFL players of all time and obviously won a championship here (in Denver),” said Greg Penner, the brand-new and charming CEO of the Broncos, in no small part because he once made the very wise decision to marry Carrie Walton and get formally hitched to the Walmart financial empire.

On the morning when these crazy-rich Waltons walked out to Broncos practice for the first time since their purchase of the franchise was approved by an enthusiastically unanimous vote of fellow NFL owners, there was a celebrity buzz at Dove Valley headquarters.

Denver mayor Michael Hancock dropped by to hear ownership’s vision for his favorite team. Two of the rock-star minority partners in the Waltons ownership group, Starbucks chairwoman Mellody Hobson and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, were living proof of what strong women can achieve in the United States.

Know what else was really cool? Under the shining sun of an Instagram-worthy Colorado summer morning, two Hall of Fame quarterbacks who had a big hand in the Broncos’ three championships stood 60 yards apart in the 11 o’clock hour.

Arms folded across his chest, John Elway was a lone wolf, his gaze focused intently on Russell Wilson, as the current Broncos quarterback threw gorgeous spirals to Courtland Sutton and a slew of receivers.

But one field over from where Elway quietly planted his shoes in the grass, the most compelling scene of a historic day slowly unfolded.

Sixty yards away, there was Manning on the sideline of an adjoining practice field, surrounded by the new ownership team, holding court for over 20 minutes with the Waltons, as well as Rice and Hobson.

As Manning animatedly punctuated his views by stabbing the air with his hands, the new owners of the Broncos hung on every word he uttered. These captains of industry and politics, successful men and ground-breaking women in their chosen fields, were obviously starstruck by Manning.

“We’re big believers in empowering people,” Penner said. “We love football 
 But we’re not going to be calling plays, we’re not going to be drafting players. We’re going to empower this team, led by (general manager) George Paton and (coach) Nathaniel Hackett to make those decisions.”

Why not add Manning to the dream team?

The ownership group will hire a president of business operations to replace Joe Ellis, who departs after 27 years of distinguished service to the Broncos. The new president will report directly to Penner, as will Paton.

As Manning builds his entertainment production company, it would seem to make little sense for him to enter NFL management as Broncos president. Manning, however, could be invaluable to Penner and the Walton family in an executive consulting role. PFM could offer input on everything from building a championship culture, to major personnel decisions, to how a new stadium might impact team success.

Despite an estimated net worth of $60 billion, give or take the price of a mega yacht, what makes shaking hands with one S. Robson Walton for the first time such a pleasure is his endearing hint of aw-shucks, old-fashioned, taint-nothing Midwestern humility.

For all his family has accomplished in the business world, Walton admitted to me he was a bit nervous walking into a room of NFL owners when they welcomed him into their very exclusive club with a perfunctory vote 24 hours earlier. He also chuckled that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones left the business meeting and immediately held court with journalists gathered at the luxury hotel near the Minneapolis airport.

Walton and Jones are both proud Arkansas Razorbacks. But know the best thing about Walton, Penner and their all-star cast of Broncos owners?

They aren’t Jones, full of self-aggrandizing bombast.

The new owners of a beloved NFL team are here to win championships for the glory of ¶¶Òőapountry, not tell us how good they are.

The Rob Walton-led group must first meet with the Finance Committee, which will approve of the $4.65 billion purchase and send it along to the entire ownership body. A “yes” vote of at least 75% is required (24 clubs). The Finance Committee is chaired by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Clark Hunt.

Once the team owners approve the purchase, the Broncos will be under new ownership for the first time since Pat Bowlen and his siblings bought a majority stake in the team in 1984.

On June 11, Walton, daughter Carrie Walton Penner and son-in-law Greg Penner reached agreement with the Broncos for the largest purchase in world sports franchise history. Limited shareholders included Mellody Hobson and Condoleezza Rice. It is unknown how large a stake Hobson and Rice will own of the Broncos or if they will be voting shares.

The timeline will achieve Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis’ goal of having a new ownership group in place by the start of the regular season Sept. 12 at Seattle. The Broncos were put on the market on Feb. 1.

Hold your water, ¶¶Òőapountry.

And let¶¶Òőap get two things straight:

No. 1: If Walton, the NFL’s fattest cat in the ownership fraternity as soon as his $4.65 billion purchase is rubber-stamped for approval, wants a new playpen to replace a perfectly functional stadium off Federal Boulevard that¶¶Òőap only 22 seasons old, he can build it himself, with all his Walmart money. The idea of taxpayers footing the bill is oh-so-very 1998, as outdated as your dad’s cargo shorts. We won’t get fooled again.

No. 2: The Broncos are Denver. Denver is the Broncos. Don’t even think about uprooting the Broncos and making them the little team on the prairie out by Denver International Airport. Yes, I understand building a football entertainment complex has become the trendy real estate play. But if Walton truly wants to be a good neighbor, he will infuse a city battered by the pandemic with 21st century ideas to reshape the urban landscape rather than flee Denver.

What¶¶Òőap your fantasy for a new stadium? In my dream, there’s a Super Bowl being played in Denver at a facility with a permanent, translucent roof with massive walls of windows that can be mechanically opened to let in fresh Rocky Mountain air, plus dimmer switches capable of darkening the glass when our Colorado sunshine grows too intense.

But before getting too carried away, let’s keep it real long enough to talk dollars and common sense. The conservative replacement cost for Empower Field at Mile High starts at $2 billion, as we were told back in 2019 by Ray Baker, chairman of the Metropolitan Football Stadium District.

Nine years remain on the lease for the current stadium, whose $400 million price tag was 75% funded through contributions from taxpayers. The cost of doing business in the NFL has gone up astronomically since 2001. The first order of football business for the Walton ownership team, which includes Rob as well as his daughter and son-in-law, will be to secure a contract extension for quarterback Russell Wilson that could well cost a hefty $250 million.

During the bidding process, the Walton group made a strong impression by demonstrating keen interest in learning the intricacies of what makes a pro football franchise tick. It would be shocking if this new ownership team reached a hasty decision on a new stadium, without thoroughly studying the current site and its ability to generate new revenue through a mixed-use development to the south of Empower Field.

Our friend Stan Kroenke, owner of the Avalanche, Nuggets, Rapids and Mammoth, as well as strong ties to the Walmart fortune, poured six years of his time and more than $5 billion of his own money into building a stadium that his Rams and the Chargers call home. A sports palace is not built in a day. Even if the Walton group decided to fast-track a new facility, turning that dream into reality might well require the remainder of this decade.

There are tough choices to be made. Could a new stadium be built on the current site? It¶¶Òőap possible, but would be a tight fit. Acquiring a bigger footprint for development would bring hard questions regarding land use in a city where the lack of affordable housing is a sticky issue.

This much I know is true: The coolest stadiums in the NFL, from Pittsburgh to Seattle, are a fixture in their hometowns, not interlopers in the suburbs.

While Kansas City has a rowdy tailgate scene in parking lots plopped down in the middle of nowhere, traffic at Chiefs games is a nightmare. The monstrosity football-crazy Texans helped Cowboys owner Jerry Jones build a celebration of his ego that feels like a bad shopping mall on steroids. The 49ers made a $1.3 billion mistake to move out of San Francisco.

Earlier this year, not long after planting a “For Sale” sign in the team’s front yard, Broncos president Joe Ellis said the big decision of what to do with the stadium “will be No. 1 on the next owner’s plate.”

There’s no reason for Walton to hurry a $2 billion-plus decision, which isn’t chump change, no matter how rich you are.

Just my two cents: Abandoning Denver for a new home in the suburbs would give the Broncos a bad case of buyer’s remorse. Don’t even think about it.